Attraverso la Finestra: Tempesta e Pioggia
by Lia-Osaka92
Summary: Fifth Window: "N-not that kind of 'like', you moron! The kind of... like when people hold hands... or something" Collection of vignettes loosely connected to 'Il nostro percorso sotto la luce'. 8059, YamaGoku, Shonen-Ai fluff. Rated for implied things only.
1. Prima Finestra

**Attraverso la Finestra -Tempesta e Pioggia**

This story/stories will be a companion piece to my _Il nostro percorso sotto la luce_ and it will be hard to understand for anyone who hasn't read that one first.

More than a story, I want this to be a series of snippets, showing Gokudera's and Yamamoto's life, prior to the beginning of _percorso_ and after the ending –mostly the latter-. This first one takes place shortly before the events of _percorso_ and it's more on the angsty side, but I intend further vignettes to be fluffier and light-hearted.

**Prima Finestra: Tempesta di nostalgia**

Gokudera Hayato had always known something like this would happen the moment he turned 24. It was only logical; in whatever alternative timeline, his ten-year-younger self would meet the Tenth and get involved with the Vongola, which in itself meant hanging around the stupid cow and his stupid, defective bazooka.

After breaking up with Yamamoto he had avoided the cow kid like the plague. He didn't want to be in the remotest proximity of that stupid invention and risk being sent to the future –a future he didn't want to see- or worse, the past. But he knew the latter would eventually become inevitable; and so didn't feel surprised in the slightest when, in the middle of a meeting with the Bucking Horse, he felt his stomach twist and found himself enveloped in puffy pink smoke.

"Gokudera? Are you alright? You shouldn't have picked on Lambo like that."

Gokudera's heart seemed to stop in his chest when he heard that voice. Of all the unfortunate moments to be sent back to, it had to be this, such was his luck. As the smoke cleared out, he found Yamamoto Takeshi's face staring in concern at him and then changing to surprise when he realized the switch.

"Woah! Gokudera? You look… taller?"

He couldn't bear to look at Yamamoto and his blinding radiance. It hurt too much. "I assume the 'me' from this time got hit by the Bovino Ten Year Bazooka and our places have been switched for the next five minutes." He explained mechanically, not daring to look at the younger boy.

"That sounds really complicated haha. Does that mean you're the Gokudera from the future? You've become a really cool-looking adult, haha!"

Gokudera just nodded and wished for this stupid five minutes to be over soon. For some reason, though, every second felt like an eternity. He was suffocating.

"Ne, what's the future like? Do we have flying cars and giant robots yet? Haha." The boy chuckled.

There was a moment of awkward silence until he felt the younger one clear his throat and shift nervously on the bench they were sitting.

"Ne, Gokudera…-san? In the future… will I still be able to stay by Gokudera's side?" Gokudera's heart got caught in his throat. He didn't want to have this conversation; not now, nor ever. "Can I ask some advice from Gokudera of the future? If I told the Gokudera of the present… _my_ Gokudera…If I told him that I loved him, would he get really mad?"

Yamamoto forced another soft chuckle at the end and Gokudera couldn't bear it any longer. He covered his face with his hands and let go of the stupid tears that had been pooling at the corner of his eyes. He was so stupid, for letting this boy get to him like this; so pathetic for being unable to control his yearning even after all this time. He didn't want Yamamoto to see him like this but he couldn't stop the sobs and tears.

"Why… why must it be _you_? Why are you always like this, damnit?" he sobbed, wondering how much of this eternal five minutes he had left. He didn't want to be here any longer. Why must Yamamoto love him like this, no matter which past, present or future he was sent to? Even if he'd managed to save his Yamamoto, would his other "selves" from all those different times and futures be able to do the same?

* * *

When he was a lot younger, he'd been accidentally sent to the future a lot. The last time had probably been half a year before he left Yamamoto. He was 18 back then, and the place he found himself in was unfamiliar to him. What he did recognize was half-naked 28-year-old Yamamoto laughing when he saw him.

"I'm... living with Yamamoto in the future?" he wondered as he looked around, not really expecting an answer, noticing the double bed, the pictures, the clothes scattered on the floor… he blushed.

The older Yamamoto ruffled his hair affectionately and smiled at him. "Are you really surprised? Let me tell you something, and I hope you never forget it. Hayato's always getting weird ideas if he doesn't get things told clearly. Of all the futures and pasts I've been through, of all the 'Yamamoto Takeshi's I've heard of, there is one thing I can say for sure about the "me" that exists in every possible time. And that's that, no matter what,_ I_ will always and under any circumstance love Gokudera Hayato."

Gokudera wasn't sure he understood what the older man meant with those weirdly phrased words, or if he meant anything at all, but back then, they had made him feel that in spite of everything, there was at least one place in the world that would always be 'home' for him.

Of course, he had dumped all those naïve feelings when he decided Yamamoto's happiness was more important than his selfish desire for safety.

* * *

The older Storm Guardian was brought out of his thoughts when he felt warm, lanky arms surround him.

"I'm an idiot so I don't really understand but… even if it's this Gokudera or that one… I never want to see him cry." Yamamoto murmured softly, resting his chin atop Gokudera's head.

It was mystifying to Gokudera that, no matter what he did or where he was –past, present or future- Yamamoto always ended up comforting him, when it should be the other way around. When he went to the future as a teen, the Yamamoto that had lost his father had held him and told him that it was okay to be afraid. Now, as an adult, he was embraced by a teenager Yamamoto who said he didn't want him to cry. He felt so pathetic.

"You know… if the me of the future made Gokudera cry I'll go over there and beat him up."

It was all so meaninglessly stupid and Gokudera just couldn't _stop fucking crying_ that he didn't even wonder why he was leaning into the younger boy's warmth. He didn't care. It didn't matter anymore. He was a big crying mess and he hated himself so much but he didn't care because being in Yamamoto's arms –whatever Yamamoto, from the past, the future or another planet- felt so damn good.

'_Let's keep that a secret from the other 'me', yes? He'd be horribly jealous. I know because I'd be too._' He could hear the voice of the Yamamoto of the future in his head and snorted at the irony.

The moment he wondered if it wouldn't be too terrible to just stay like this forever, he felt himself being enveloped in puffy pink smoke.

Yamamoto was thrown aback when the adult Gokudera that had been crying in his arms a mere two seconds ago disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Gokudera-san? Are you there? Everything okay?"

When the smoke cleared, though, the person he saw was _his_ Gokudera, and he seemed as confused as could be.

"Ya-Yamamoto?" the teen bomber stuttered, raising his face to meet the swordsman's eyes, and tearing up when he did so. "That future… I don't want to see that kind of future… I never…" he choked as the tears flowed down his cheeks.

Yamamoto hugged his friend on impulse. "That's okay. We won't let it become like that."

He didn't quite understand what had happened in the last five minutes, and he most definitely had no idea of what kind of future it was that the Gokudera he had met had come from.

What he did know for sure was that a future that made Gokudera cry was something he would never allow, no matter what.

_-Finito-_

So, as I explained earlier, this is intended to happen shortly before _percorso_. It's a scene I really wanted to write but I didn't find a proper moment in the story to add it, so I decided to start these vignettes with it.

I think the main point of this small story is that, even if Gokudera tried to change Yamamoto's future by breaking up with him, the younger 'Dera that saw that future and how sad and lonely it was decided he didn't want it and so he'll realize that he wants to be with Yamamoto. Dealing with time travelling is always complicated especially in KHR where they acknowledge the existence of multiple parallel timelines, so I'm not even going to try to go deeper into that explanation. Sorry.

Following up with my bastardizing of Italian, the title of this story is "Through the Window- Storm and Rain" because when I think of the vignettes I want to write, I sort of imagine like looking through a window and spying on different moments of their lives.

The title's chapter is "First Window: Storm of nostalgia", which I suppose is self-explanatory.

I hope you guys like this little story full of self-loathing (sorry, 'Dera). Promise the upcoming ones to be happier and definitely fluffier


	2. Seconda Finestra

_Just a quick warning_: Awful use of Italian –mostly on purpose-. Fluff max. These stories will not necessarily be in any sort of chronological order.

**Seconda Finestra: Notte senza pioggia**

The night sky was as clear as could be, not even the smallest cloud daring to cover the magnificent view of Sicily's deep dark sky sprinkled with every star any man had ever seen. The room's glass doors were slightly opened and it allowed the nocturnal chill to penetrate from the balcony and make the silk white curtains dance.

A ray of silver light shone through the window and into the bed. The full moon; bigger and brighter than anyone could imagine, shone above the small Italian house in its full glory, like something come from another world.

The white sheets on the bed ruffled as a young man climbed down and walked towards the balcony. He rubbed the sleep off his eyes and opened the glass doors cautiously, hoping not to wake the sleeping person still lying in bed as he directed his gaze towards the moon, wonder and amazement shining in his brown eyes.

"What are you doing over there butt-naked? You'll catch a cold." The man in bed asked groggily, pointing out his state of undress.

Completely dazed by the nightly scenery, the taller man answered without thinking. "_Vieni qui. Guarda la luna._"

His companion quirked an eyebrow in curiosity. The brown-eyed man could hear him rising from the bed and walking towards him.

"The fuck are you doing babbling in that awful Italian? Did you hit your head or something?" he asked, standing behind his lover and leaning his chin on the taller man's shoulder.

Yamamoto laughed. "_Perdonami_, Hayato, _ma_ _ questa notte e piú bella, non ti pare_?"

The Italian bomber groaned his disapproval. "If this is your new idea of seduction, your awful Japanese accent and your generally terrible disposition for languages are not helping. Even in High School your English grades were atrocious."

The baseball player laughed again. "So mean. I just felt suddenly inspired to try out my Italian since we're here in Sicily and the moon's so beautiful. I thought Italian was the language for romance?" he chuckled mirthfully.

Gokudera rolled his eyes but smiled softly nonetheless. He surrounded his naked lover's waist with his arms and tilted his head to nibble at the taller man's earlobe. Yamamoto leaned into his embrace and hummed contentedly as he placed his hands atop his lover's.

The silver headed bomber looked up at the night sky that had entranced his partner so much. "I'll give it to you, though. It truly is a beautiful night."

"Told you so." Yamamoto chuckled, turning his head to look at his lover. The clear light of the moon made the shorter man's hair shine like real silver and his eyes looked like a pair of gorgeous emeralds. Even after all these years, this man could still make his heart race as it had when he was a teen. "_Sei bellisimo_" he whispered, leaning in for a sweet, long kiss that tasted like life itself.

Gokudera pulled him in closer, pressing their bodies flush together. When their lips parted, he started raining butterfly kisses down Takeshi's neck and shoulders, while rubbing the sweet spot on his hipbones with his thumbs, eliciting a throaty moan from his partner.

"I thought you were not getting seduced by my horrible Italian." He teased, leaning into the touch as if hoping their bodies would melt into each other.

"I changed my mind." Hayato smirked, biting down on one shoulder, hoping to leave a mark.

Takeshi chuckled.

"_Bravissima_".

_-Finito-_

Quick translations of my horrible Italian, in case they aren't obvious by context

"Come here. Take a look at the moon."

"Sorry Hayato, but this night is truly beautiful, isn't it?"

"You're gorgeous."

"Awesome" (roughly)

I was inspired to write this extremely short piece after watching Moonstruck (that 80's movie with Cher and Nicholas Cage back when he was a hottie) with my Mom, plus a weekend with my Italian brother-in-law and his legion of Italian friends and family. I also wanted to play with the idea that imho, Italian on Japanese accent sounds horrible –as Arcana Famiglia and Reborn itself can testify-. I can easily imagine Dera trying to teach Yama some Italian so that he makes himself useful for Vongola when they go to Italy, then giving up because Yama is such a dork.

I'm not sure how strict FF has gotten with the rating policies, so I'm not sure if this would grant making this an M story, anyone knows? This is as hot as it'll ever get so I don't really know if it's too much to stay T.

Chronologically, I'd say they're both in their late twenties to early thirties in this piece and decided to take a romantic weekend off LOL. They probably left Fuuko with Uncle Tsuna or something LOL.

Anyway, hope you like it even if it's really short. It was just a spur-of-the-moment inspiration so I hope I at least managed to convey the picture I had in my head. Please R&R and sorry for abusing Italian and making horrible things with it.


	3. Terza Finestra

**Terza Finestra: Piccola Pioggia**

"Daddy! Daddy!"

The man groaned groggily, trying to force his brain to start rolling. He squinted his eyes as the sunlight passed through the curtains and hit him square in the face, fighting back the instinct to hide his head under the covers.

"Daddy, wake up! You should be helping with breakfast!" the pint-sized girl squealed excitedly.

Yamamoto rubbed the sleep off his eyes and smiled at the little girl. "Alright, alright. Go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute." He slurred, his brain not entirely free of sleep's grasp.

After his daughter left the room, Yamamoto Takeshi hurried to the bathroom to wash his face, hoping the cold water would take all remnants of grogginess away. He had always considered himself a morning person, but he'd been up till very late last night and had had very few hours to sleep.

The Rain Guardian peeked at his image on the mirror and noticed the light stub growing inconspicuously under his nose and chin. He'd never been particularly hairy, but as the years went by, he realized he had to shave more often than not. He also realized he was wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and threw on a loose pair of shorts and a white cotton T-shirt, letting out one final yawn before starting for the kitchen.

The smell of warm food filled his nostrils as he walked down the stairs. No sooner had he stepped close to the dining table, when he heard a roar from the kitchen.

"Takeshi! I've been calling you to get up for forty-five minutes!" His angry spouse spat at him, waving the spoon with which he was probably mixing bolognesa, judging by the smell.

"Sorry, sorry!" It was hard to make up excuses when he was trying not to focus too much on how cute his beloved looked with his kitchen apron. Still, Yamamoto had the pressing idea that he was forgetting something important –and that it had something to do with the fact that bolognesa wasn't quite the traditional breakfast dish-, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Hayato Gokudera wrinkled his brow in annoyance and opened his mouth to retort, but stopped when his emerald eyes took a glance at Yamamoto's outfit.

"The fuck are you wearing? Make yourself presentable, for fuck's sake; Fuuko's friends are arriving in less than three hours!"

Yamamoto had a passing thought about how Gokudera's extremely colorful language hadn't changed a bit since they were teenagers, and even if he tried to hold back when Fuuko was around, he couldn't help going loose when his stress level was high.

And it was then that it hit him. The reason Hayato was so stressed. The reason they were having bolognesa for breakfast. The reason they'd both stayed up until really late last night planning a party. Today was Fuuko's fifth birthday.

His husband's eyes widened in dismay. "You forgot, you bastard! I can't believe you! Bring your stupid ass over here and do your part while I help Fuuko with her hair."

Yamamoto rushed to his daughter's side and hugged her to his chest, rubbing his cheek to hers. "Whaaat? I'd never forget my beautiful Fuu-chan's birthday since it's the day I became a daddy! How can you accuse me of such a horrible thing?!" he feigned dismay as he ruffled the little girl's hair. "Happy birthday, love." He kissed the top of her head and then fled to the kitchen –he was supposed to be cutting up some sushi for his princess's special day, after all.

Hayato huffed his disapproval and pecked their daughter's cheek. "C'mon honey, I'll help you with your hair while your idiot father finishes up with breakfast."

The girl chirped joyfully and followed Hayato out of the room. Yamamoto chuckled. His beloved was really, _really_ mad at him.

* * *

Yamamoto had never understood why his daughter would always request to have the strange combined dish of sushi and bolognesa for her birthday, but he'd had to get used to many quirk things since becoming a father, so he never even asked. She'd first requested it when she was to turn three, so he and Hayato had complied thinking it had been a toddler's whim and nothing more. But she repeated the request next year, and this year too. At this point, Takeshi was wondering if his daughter expected to have hot Italian meat and sauce combined with cold raw Japanese rice and fish for her birthday till' Kingdom come.

"Breakfast is ready!" he called out as he set down the dishes for the three of them.

The hurried steps of the little girl could be heard down the hall as she approached the dining room.

"Daddy, look! Papa made my hair all pretty!" she squealed.

Since Fuuko was very little, Hayato had taken a natural liking to brushing her hair and fixing it in cute buns or ponytails. As the little one grew, her straight black hair did too –it reached her shoulder blades now- which allowed the Storm Guardian more leeway to get creative. Takeshi grinned when he saw his daughter, whose bangs were pulled back with a cute red hairpin, the left side of her hair tied in a braid and pulled up to form a small rose-like bun atop her ear, whilst the right side was loose and shiny.

"Oh my! Where did this beautiful lady come from? I thought Hayato was brushing my Fuu-chan's hair, but instead he comes with the prettiest princess of them all." He grinned, pinching the girl's nose, which made her giggle. He turned to his beloved. "You know, if Tsuna ever kicks us out of the job, you can always open a salon and become a stylist. We'd become rich in a second." He joked as the three of them sat at the table.

Hayato just rolled his eyes but said nothing as the three of them called _Itadakimasu_ before digging in.

"It's really yummy!" Fuuko said, biting down on a piece of meat.

"That's right. Hayato always does his best for Fuu-chan's birthday. I'm so jealous, I want to get Hayato's love cooking too." Yamamoto grinned.

Gokudera rolled his eyes at him again, but smiled nonetheless and turned to watch their daughter eat, paying little attention to his own food. Yamamoto too ignored his weird hybrid breakfast and took to watching his adored family. He was always so happy that he wondered if he wasn't stealing other people's worth of happiness all by himself.

The bell rang few minutes after they were done eating.

"Eeh? Isn't it a bit early? I thought you said we had three hours before the guests arrived." Yamamoto complained, as he rushed to change into something more presentable than his T-shirt and shorts.

"It's probably the Tenth. He said he'd be early to help, he's so considerate after all."

When he was younger, he'd oftimes feel jealous of Gokudera's worshipping of Tsuna. Even after they started dating, it would grate Yamamoto to hear his boyfriend talk of the Tenth's grandiosity, when the best he could hope for was being called "idiot". Sometimes he wondered if he was some sort of masochist. When they were in their last year of high school, Yamamoto had finally snapped and they'd had a really big fight as a result, but eventually worked it out. Gokudera made an effort to be more open about his feelings since then –even after the years they spent apart- which Yamamoto dearly appreciated, knowing how awkward and shy the silver-head man was when it came to showing his affection.

He could hear his daughter greeting the Vongola boss and his friend complimenting the little girl's hairstyle. He could've never asked for a better friend than Tsuna. After he returned to Vongola –now a father- his friend had been nothing but understanding, and gave him a lot of time to adjust back to the world of the mafia, plus a very flexible schedule to tend to his newborn daughter's need; he even helped baby-sitting her when both Yamamoto and Gokudera were busy. Although, in retrospect, Tsuna was a great friend and a caring boss to everyone he met, so he shouldn't have been surprised.

He too greeted his friend and helped him carry the big, colorfully wrapped box that presumably contained Fuu-chan's present to a corner, chuckling as Hayato praised Tsuna's good heart and generosity.

* * *

A few hours had gone by and now the house was swarming with children. Most of them were other Vongola children, including the ruthless boy Xanxus had picked up from the street one day and whose eyes were as fierce and intimidating as his surrogate father's and Ryohei's daughter Kana-chan, who took amazingly after her mom. There were also, of course, other people from Vongola, like Bianchi who doted on her niece like no one, Lambo and I-Pin who loved to play with the kids, and Mukuro, who'd promised to put on a "magic" show for the children if he was properly rewarded. But Takeshi was happy to see that at least a few of Fuuko's friends from kindergarten were here too.

When he was younger, he'd had the naïve idea that, as long as he had Gokudera, he didn't care what anyone else thought. But now that Fuuko came into the picture, he realized society didn't forgive people who broke its rules. Everyone in Vongola was supportive of their relationship true enough, but Fuuko's teachers, her friends, and the other kids' families did not look upon them kindly ever since they decided to be open about their family situation. Teachers would laugh nervously and avert their eyes when they went together to drop Fuuko at school, parents would whisper behind their backs when they came to the school events and tell their children to stay away from them, and some kids would call Fuuko "freak". Gokudera would often blame himself for it, and Yamamoto constantly feared his beloved would bolt out of their lives to "protect them" any given moment.

Luckily there were exceptions, and a couple of teachers would treat them as kindly as they would anyone else and praise the way they raised their little daughter, some kids would come close to her and be her friends in spite of everything, and some parents would even chat with them normally when they ran into each other in the neighbourhood. It was a small thing, but it meant the world to both of them.

Yamamoto knew he should be helping out somehow, but he couldn't tear his eyes off Gokudera. His beloved would never admit to it, but he had always been fond of children and had a natural charm with them. That someone as short-tempered as he was could play "hide-and-seek" or run around the house being "it" for hours on end was proof of this. Even when they were younger, Gokudera had always been the more apt at looking after Lambo, even if he always said he hated the task. Yamamoto was completely enraptured by the tired-yet-mirthful smile on his husband's face as he was found in the millionth "hide-and-seek" of the day.

The door rang for the umpteenth time that day and Yamamoto rushed to open it begrudgingly, wishing to stay in the courtyard to watch the games.

"Sorry we're late. Papa was slow." a squeaky voice explained.

Yamamoto looked down to find the Hibari twins Tsubasa and Mao, three years of age and terrifyingly identical to their father.

"You guys are so mean. I just wanted to wrap Fuuko-chan's gift in a cute box." Dino Cavallone protested with teary eyes. "Kyouya said he'd come later, he has to finish up an interrogation."

The Cavallone boss handed Yamamoto a big pink box with tons of streams and ribbons attached to it.

"Wow thanks, you shouldn't have. It's big enough to be a pony, haha." Yamamoto joked as he put the box with all the other presents, to be opened after the cake was served.

"Kyouya said a pony was a stupid gift." Dino brooded, surprising Yamamoto. "I'll never be able to get one for the boys; they're too much like Kyouya. Tsu has even started calling me 'herbivore' from time to time. They're so mean."

Yamamoto sort of ignored Dino's wails about his family life and showed him to the living room, where most of the adults were. "Come kids, Fuu-chan's playing with everyone outside. She'll be really happy to see you."

After the twins left for the backyard, Yamamoto went to the kitchen to get a glass of water and found Hayato smoking surreptitiously while leaning on the sink.

"You know they're gonna find you in no time just by following the smell of the smoke, right?" Takeshi teased.

"Idiot, I'm not hiding. Mukuro is doing his 'magic' show or whatever so I took the chance to grab a smoke while I can. We should take the cake out once he's done with that."

When Fuuko was still a toddler, Gokudera had been extremely self-conscious about smoking close to her. He never smoked inside the house and had had to live off nicotine patches for most of the day, smoking only when they were at work or in missions. He'd slowly decreased the amount of smokes and general nicotine he consumed, and was now smoking less than a third of what he used to when they were in high school.

"I'll take care of that, don't worry. You've been running around all day, you deserve a breather." He grabbed Hayato's wrist to keep the cigarette away long enough to peck his darling's lips.

"Idiot."

* * *

Fuuko blew the candles out while the guests clapped and cheered. She then gave room to her father to cut the cake and distribute the slices among the numerous guests.

"It's super yummy!" she squealed after taking a bite

"Oh, really? That's great, Papa and I put all of our love into making it." Takeshi grinned pinching her cheek affectionately. It turned out making so many awful hand-made Valentine presents for Hayato in his youth had become a useful experience, and though the Storm Guardian would always be all kinds of superior when it came to cooking, he was glad to at least be able to make himself useful.

"Oi, you have cake on your face. Are you a kid?"

He chuckled. "Maybe. If it gets Hayato to clean it for me, then definitely yes."

The green-eyed man rolled his eyes, grabbed a napkin and rubbed his cheek with it, wiping the cream away. Yamamoto took the moment of vulnerability to pull him by the wrist and steal a kiss from him, for which he got a scowl and a beet red blush.

"Daddy is so weird." Fuuko giggled.

"Oh really? 'Cos I got one for you too." And he leaned in to peck the tip of her nose.

"Come on, honey, go share the cake with your friends or you might get infected by your father's folly." Hayato urged, ruffling her already messy hair (it had taken less than an hour for Fuuko's beautiful hairdo to get undone by all her running and playing around). "And _you_, make yourself useful, go take some more pictures when you finish eating that. Fuuko will want pictures with her friends and presents."

Yamamoto made a flourished reverence, the grin never leaving his face. "Your wish is my command."

"Oi." He heard Hayato calling him as he turned to grab the camera and leave. "I love you."

Takeshi blushed and his heart skipped a beat. He had a sudden urge to go back to his husband and hold him, but before he could take a step, Hayato's eyebrows twitched in the subtlest of scowls. "Go. Now."

The Rain Guardian smiled again and left, his belly swarming with the feeling of fluttering butterflies.

* * *

"Thanks for coming Tsu-kun and Mao-kun. And Uncle Dino too." Fuuko chirped at the door, as the family said their goodbyes.

"It's always a joy to come and see you Fuuko-chan. You're growing so fast, you'll be a lady before anyone notices." Dino said, with a gentle smile.

"Don't say that! My Fuu-chan's never going to grow up! She'll be Daddy's little girl forever." Yamamoto pouted, crushing the girl against his chest.

Dino chuckled. "I wish the kids would stay small forever too. Sorry that Kyouya couldn't make it, the interrogation seems to be taking more than he expected."

Fuuko shook her head. "No problem. I know Uncle Kyouya doesn't like crowds anyway." She smiled.

"You're too much of an adult for your age. Maybe you should swap with Takeshi, see if he grows up someday, and you stay a kid forever." Gokudera butted in, picking the girl up from behind and sitting her on his shoulders.

Dino laughed and waved goodbye as the twins bowed, and the three of them left. Yamamoto shut the door when they lost sight of them while Gokudera collapsed on the couch, still carrying their daughter on his shoulders.

"I could just die right now." He sighed exhausted.

Fuuko winced and hugged his head frantically. "No, Papa! You can't die!" she wailed as her eyes started watering.

Yamamoto helped put her down and sit on the couch, wiping away a small tear off the corner of her eye. "No one's going to die, don't be scared. As if Papa or I could ever leave the most beautiful princess on Earth alone. Protecting you is our most important job." He said, stroking her hair soothingly. One of Fuuko's friends from school had recently lost their parents in an accident, and she had taken it really badly, having nightmares all the time, or telling them not to go to work because it was dangerous.

"That's right, you don't have to worry. I'm sorry I scared you, love. We're all really tired, aren't we? How about a bath and a story before we go to sleep?"

The girl's mood brightened and she threw her tiny arms around Hayato's neck. "That sounds great!" she squealed before dashing to the bathroom. "Papa, will you wash my hair?" she asked, peeking around the corner.

"Of course, love. Call me when you're ready." He smiled gently at her, and she squealed delighted once again and ran off out of their sight.

Yamamoto scooted closer to his beloved and circled his waist with his arms. "Why are you her favorite, that's not fair? Are you going to cheat on me with our daughter?" he teased, nuzzling his neck.

Gokudera huffed in annoyance. "Don't be stupid. If I'm her favorite, she'll never want to run off with some other man, that's all. As if I'd let my daughter ever grow up."

Takeshi giggled. Gokudera had become quite a doting father in no time, and he found it really cute when he said Fuuko was "his daughter". At first, he'd had those weird ideas he seemed to get all the time, and said he couldn't hope to be Fuuko's father when he was at fault for the failure of Yamamoto's marriage, but the little girl had taken an immediate liking to him and that helped change his mind really fast. Though it was true that he was mildly concerned about how close those too were; sometimes he even felt left out. But the way Hayato smiled and how Fuuko's face lit up when they were having fun together made Yamamoto's heart warm up. He had no doubt he was the happiest man on Earth.

"Hey, are you really going to die?" he asked, nibbling on Gokudera's collarbone.

The green-eyed man grunted. "Come on, how old are you? Stop getting-"

"No, I mean… I'm wondering if Hayato is most definitely not up for… uh… "adult" fun." His ideas were getting muddy with a weird mixture of exhaustion and lust, and he wondered if _he_ was even up for it.

There was a brief silence in which Hayato said nothing and Takeshi continued to kiss and nip at his neck and collar. For a moment, he wondered if his husband had fallen asleep under his ministrations, but as he was about to verify, Hayato answered.

"I'll get in the tub with you after Fuuko is asleep. _And_ you'll massage my feet. That's my only offer."

Yamamoto grinned. "Those terms sound fair to me. As usual, your negotiation skills are outstanding, Gokudera-sama. I'll be looking forward to it."

"Papa! I'm already in, you can come now!" Fuuko's voice came from the bathroom.

Gokudera stood from the couch and took off his tie and jacket.

"Ne, Hayato? Will you wash my hair too?" Yamamoto asked playfully, stretching on the newly deserted couch.

The silver-headed man rolled his eyes. He grabbed Yamamoto's collar and pulled him in for a fierce kiss.

"What am I ever going to do with you?"

And he walked away, leaving a dazzled Yamamoto grinning like an idiot.

_-Finito-_

This was a lot longer than I initially planned, and I lost inspiration many times while writing it –so much that I finished a fourth chapter in the middle of writing this one-. The idea was simply to portray their family life and how both Yama and Dera have grown into doting fathers in different ways; it sort of got out of hand. Actually, this is probably the most proper "sequel" for _Il nostro_, so I tried to churn in a lot of little details about how their lives have changed in five years.

Sorry for putting in my D18 fantasies without warning. I just wish men could get pregnant, because I'm sure Hibari's kids would be adorable to death. Every time I imagine them I want to squish them. So I did the next best thing, making the adopted babies coincidentally alike their daddy :D. I think I'll add an extra to this collection about the Hibari twins. The other kids I mentioned belong to other headcannons of mine (XS or RyoheixHana) but I didn't think it was necessary to put more detail to it.

The title means literally "Tiny Rain" to reference Fuuko –which I know is physically impossible, but whatever. Sorry grammar of the world for making travesties of you.

In this chapter –and I'm not sure if the previous one- I mention Yama and Dera are husbands, so I have a wedding chapter planned, though I'm not sure of how to pull it off, since gay marriage is still not legal in Japan or Italy. Maybe I'll have them marry in France or Brazil –though I speak naught of French or Portuguese- or Spain, and take advantage of my mother language, who knows. I'll think about it.

People may note that Japanese people are not all that touchy-feely (hugging, kissing, etc.) not even with their own spouses or children -especially in public-, but I don't care. I'll peg it on Gokudera's Italian ancestry and because these sort of physical displays of affection between parents and children turn me into a pile of goo

I noticed Yama grins a lot and Dera rolls his eyes a lot. Dunno, feel like it suits them.

Hope you guys like it anyway, please R&R.

PS. I just noticed I'm posting this for Dera's birthday. Way to go me! I hope Dera spends his b-day fucking like rabbits with Yama :D


	4. Quarta Finestra

**Quarta Finestra: La prima tempesta**

"W-w-what in fuck's sake do you think you're doing?!" Gokudera screamed outraged, his face crimson red up to the tip of his ears as he covered his mouth and backed away at least at arm's length from the "offender".

Said offender, who was no one but Yamamoto Takeshi, frowned. "Why of course, I was _kissing_ you. You know, it's what couples do." The usually cheery teenager crossed his arms above his chest and pouted. "Was it really that bad?". To be honest, he was no kissing expert –this one had been his first- but it felt good to him in spite of some initial awkwardness, so he was puzzled as to why his boyfriend was reacting this way.

Gokudera looked away embarrassed. Suddenly, the white wall to his right had become unusually fascinating. Of course he knew what a kiss was, and, having accepted Yamamoto's feelings, he sort of knew it would happen –had kind of hoped for it, actually- and it hadn't been bad either. It just…

"I-it was my first, stupid."

* * *

Gokudera Hayato collapsed on the bed, panting, with a satisfied smile on his face. He felt like he really needed a bath right now before the stickiness in his body stopped being hot and exciting and became messy and disgusting, but he couldn't bring himself to move an inch. He wanted to relish on this moment of bliss and satisfaction and keep those tiresome worries away for a while.

"So?" his equally naked, sweaty, sticky and panting spouse asked, rolling to his side to look at him with brown eyes still clouded with lust. "Good?"

"That's an understatement."

Yamamoto chuckled. "You'd never admit it, but you're really kinky when you get in the mood." He teased, scooting closer.

"Says the one who came up with the idea to begin with."

Takeshi just hummed pleasantly and draped an arm across his chest lazily. His lips ghosted above his beloved's shoulder, kissing the pale skin softly.

"Remember when we were in high school and I took Hayato's first kiss?"

The Storm Guardian had been about to drift into sleep when he was startled by the sudden question. He quirked an eyebrow in confusion.

"Yeah? You said something really corny back then and yet you said it with such a straight face." Not to mention his "first kiss" was far from the only "first" he'd gotten from him. "What of it?"

His husband shuffled until he was lying on top of him, his chin resting on Gokudera's naked chest. The position was odd and awkward due to their height difference, but the shorter man didn't protest.

"I was just wondering ... I've taken so many of Hayato's 'firsts' and I've given so many of mine too. I wonder if Hayato will get bored of me when all the 'firsts' are done."

Hayato burst out laughing. They may be thirty-four years old already, and yet Takeshi could still come up with silly childish worries like this. As far as he knew, his last "first" had been given away at the age of 16, when he'd given his virginity to the same man lying naked on top of him now, and who was now talking about his "firsts" as he would if he were a sticker collector.

"Oi, I'm being serious here. I want all of you and I feel like I can never truly have it. It's a lonely feeling."

The silver-head man rolled over on the bed, leaving the taller man lying beneath him.

"I'm telling you this once, and once only, so listen carefully." He started, straddling his love's hips. "I'm _always_ giving you all of myself. Every day, every moment. And of course, I'm always _taking _all of you. It's like you said back then, it wouldn't be fair otherwise. We've been together long enough, you should already know this; so stop thinking pointless things –that should be easy for you." He leaned in and captured his husband's lips in an angry kiss, which was more bite than actual kiss.

Yamamoto smiled and hugged Gokudera's waist, hoisting himself up to a sitting position. He then rested his head on Gokudera's chest and nuzzled the hollow of his collarbones silently.

"Besides" Hayato started, his hands traveling down Takeshi's back, tracing his battle scars and relishing in the feeling of his body's warmth "back then you said you'd have all the seconds and thirds, but you're so preoccupied with these 'firsts' that you've apparently forgot."

"You're right. And fourths, and fifths… everything."

"Then, until I've given you all of my 'lasts', there's still plenty to look forward to, right? There's no way I'd get bored."

Takeshi looked up, startled. This was the kind of things that Hayato didn't say often, and it made his heart race and his face turn to a faint blush at the promise it implied. He felt tears prickling at the corners of his eyes, so he just nodded, worrying that his voice would betray him.

"For example, we can start with a _second_ round, right now."

* * *

"I-it was my first, stupid." He mumbled, trying with all his might to avoid Yamamoto's eyes and thinking that, if people could die from embarrassment, he would've been goner long time ago.

Yamamoto barely caught the silver-head's words, but when he managed to put sense into them, he grinned. He cupped his boyfriend's cheeks and tugged his face upwards to meet his eyes.

"Eh? But there's nothing wrong with that! It was my first too!" when he noticed the other boy was still averting his eyes, he leaned his forehead against Gokudera's, which prompted him to look up. He looked adorable with that blush all over his face, but Yamamoto would never dare say that out loud; Gokudera would be furious if he did.

"Besides, I already decided I'm going to take all of Gokudera's firsts. And seconds and thirds… All of them! And I'm giving you all of mine in return of course, otherwise it wouldn't be fair."

_-Finito-_

I'm not really sure of where this came from. I just kind of thought of young and adorable Yama and Dera sharing their first kiss and Dera being all flustered about it, so Yama would promise him "forever" to calm him down. It was a fluffy idea at first, but it turned out a lot kinkier than I planned initially. Maybe I should really raise the rating. Ahhhh komatteimasu….

BTW, the title for this one means "First storm". It explains itself, right?

I just realized I didn't mark this story as Yama & Dera, I only had Dera up there in characters (fails), but that's fixed now. Maybe more people will read it now, it feels super lonely as it is.


	5. Quinta Finestra

**Quinta Finestra: Cuore di Pioggia**

"I like you."

The words came out all at once. No hesitation or shame could be guessed in the speaker's voice. Although it could be argued that the silver-haired boy was much more embarrassed than he let in, given how he wouldn't take his eyes off the floor.

The taller black-haired boy in front of him, blinked, perplexed. "Uh… I like you too, Gokudera. You're really cool and super smart! I've always wanted to be friends with you."

The smaller boy clenched his fists. "Not that kind of 'like', you moron!" He raised his face to glare at Yamamoto, his pale cheeks colored a deep red. "The kind of… you know… like when people hold hands or something."

An awkward moment of silence.

Yamamoto chuckled nervously. "Oh! Like that… Uh… I-I'm flattered but… you know? We're both guys so it's kind of... weird? Sorry."

Gokudera lowered his gaze and choked up a bit. "W-whatever. Not like I care!" He burst and dashed away from the scene as fast as he could, leaving a very confused Yamamoto behind.

* * *

Yamamoto had first met Gokudera Hayato at the age of ten. The Italian boy had transferred to his fourth grade class for unexplained reasons but never really made any friends. Even back then, he was really jumpy and had this unfriendly aura about him that kept people naturally away from him.

Yamamoto himself didn't pay much mind to Gokudera back then. The snarky boy would sit in the back of the classroom and take notes in silence all the time. He'd nap during lunch time and he always got the top scores in tests. He didn't join any club and never spoke to anyone. Some other kids tried to ask for his tutoring, but he'd just snap at them and tell them to fuck off.

With that given, it was a big surprise for Yamamoto to see the moody genius confess to him. He'd just turned eleven and their fifth year of elementary had barely started. Yamamoto had never been confessed to, but many girls gave him chocolates in Valentine's. He didn't quite know how he felt about the smaller kid, since they'd barely exchanged any word, although on second thought, he remembered seeing the Italian boy watching his baseball practices from afar.

Still, he didn't feel right about how he'd rejected the other boy. He'd been thinking on it over and over on the way home and decided that telling him his feelings were "weird" was really awful. Thus he decided he'd apologize first thing on Monday and maybe even try to become friends with the silver-haired kid.

But when Monday came Gokudera's seat was empty. When Yamamoto asked if he'd gone sick, the other kids simply told him that Gokudera had moved back to Italy.

* * *

Everything would've been fine and dandy, except that now Yamamoto couldn't take his mind off Gokudera. It occurred to him that maybe he shouldn't have rejected the boy like that. So okay, two guys holding hands sounded weird alright, but when he thought of Gokudera's angry blushing face he thought it was… cute? Or how he tied his hair up and put on a pair of glasses when he was studying and managed to look really pretty?

Okay, so maybe he'd been paying Gokudera more attention than he'd initially thought. By the time he graduated from elementary, he'd spend a considerable amount of time reminiscing how beautiful those fierce green eyes had looked up close. And when he realized this, he knew there was no going back.

* * *

"So today we have a new transfer student, he just arrived from Italy, so please everyone be nice with him."

Yamamoto's world seemed to come to a halt when he saw the silver haired teen in front of the class. It had barely been two years since they parted, yet Gokudera looked completely different and all the same at the same time. He was a lot more beautiful than Yamamoto remembered: his pale skin, clear green eyes, shiny silver hair… the baseball player was in a daze.

It was just his luck that the Italian boy was sent to sit beside him. This would be a perfect chance to apologize and start over. Maybe they could try to be friends and see where it went from there. Yamamoto was already fantasizing about it when the other teen reached his seat.

"Hey, Gokudera! Long time no see!" he called, grinning.

School ended and Gokudera left without ever replying.

* * *

That night, Yamamoto touched himself for the first time.

He imagined how it would feel to hold Gokudera's hand. To kiss him and hug him. To… touch him. He was already 14; he knew babies didn't come from cabbages. He wasn't quite sure of how it was supposed to work between two guys, but he imagined that, so long as it was Gokudera, it would definitely feel good. He imagined it was Gokudera touching him, and how he'd touch Gokudera in return. He thought of those bright green eyes glazed with desire staring at him, and how his milky skin would turn a deep shade of red. What kind of face would he make? Would he make any sounds?

When he thought of Gokudera calling his name in the throes of passion, it was over.

* * *

If things weren't bad enough with Gokudera ignoring him, the Italian boy also seemed to have become infatuated with another guy from their class. Sawada Tsunayoshi, he was called, and Yamamoto had always thought he was a weird but funny guy. At least until the object of his affection started tailing after him with puppy-dreamy eyes _all-the-time_, which caused Yamamoto's opinion about him to change drastically overnight.

And then Yamamoto broke his arm. His game had already been awful lately as it was, what with being distracted thinking of Gokudera, and now he also had a broken arm. Not only had Gokudera become unreachable, he'd probably be unable to play baseball in a long time –if not forever-. Clearly, living wasn't worth it anymore, so he climbed to the roof of the school and decided to put an end to his own misery.

There was something sort of embarrassing in being saved by Tsuna, mostly because it made him realize he couldn't hate such an honest and kind guy even if he was stealing Gokudera away from him. Many years later, Yamamoto would always feel awfully embarrassed when he recalled the situation and had to admit to being a very special kind of idiot for wanting to jump off a building over a little jealousy and a broken arm.

When Yamamoto and Tsuna landed safely on ground level with the help of Reborn's special bullet, Gokudera Hayato's heart -which had altogether stopped beating for three minutes straight upon seeing the familiar figure on the edge of the building- slowly regained a normal rhythm. When he was sure _that person_ was uninjured, he fled the scene, hoping nobody had seen him there.

* * *

Things started to go substantially better since then. Tsuna seemed to be playing a mafia game with Gokudera and a funny baby, and they wanted him to play with them, which meant he could spend a lot of time with Gokudera. They also started walking home from school since they lived in the same direction, and often hung out at Tsuna's place to study (Gokudera was really smart as always, and tutored them both) or at his old man's restaurant. Yamamoto soon learned that Gokudera was struggling with money, so he invited him over for dinner all the time, to the Italian boy's dismay.

Then one day, people at Nami-Chuu had started to appear beaten up and injured and the baby had told them they had to put a stop to it. Even if it was dangerous and he ended up hurting his arm even further, Yamamoto was happy that he was able to fight along Gokudera and protect him.

When everything was over and they were sitting in a hospital room getting their injuries treated, Yamamoto decided this was his golden chance. Gokudera was acting more accepting towards him, and he even seemed to have grown a little fonder of him.

"Uhm… Gokudera?" he started, hesitantly. "Can we… talk?"

The silver-haired boy turned to look at him with a blank expression on his face, which prompted Yamamoto to continue.

"Ah… you know when we were kids and we were in the same class? That time you… you said you liked me?"

Yamamoto paused for a second when he noticed how the other boy seemed to freeze, his pupils shrinking into slits and his fingers tightening rigidly around the bed sheets.

"I… I was very mean back then. I said horrible things to you and hurt your feelings. I'm… really sorry. I know there's no excuse but I… I just wanted you to know how sorry I am and that I hope I can make it up to you someday. I… I really hope that Gokudera and I could… become friends."

"Friends" was actually an understatement of what he truly wanted, but he thought it would be best to take it as a starting point and work from there. It was already a miracle that Gokudera was willing to hear him out in spite of what had happened in the past, and he hoped he could slowly make his way back into the other boy's heart and get a second chance with him.

Gokudera looked up at Yamamoto scowling, with a light pink blush on his cheeks. "Hah? Are you so stupid to get hung up over something like that? Like I remember something that long ago, let alone care about it!"

Yamamoto smiled gleefully. By now, he'd known Gokudera long enough to know that at least, he'd earned forgiveness.

"Awesome! Let's go to my old man's after we get discharged, I'll treat you to a special meal to celebrate!" he chirped

"Idiot." Gokudera mumbled, turning his back to Yamamoto.

As he heard the other boy chuckle, Gokudera hoped against all hopes that the baseball idiot wouldn't hear the frantic beating of his heart, which threatened to burst out of his ribcage.

* * *

By the time Yamamoto realized this was most certainly _not_ a mafia game, it was just a bit too late. He'd always sort of known, but he'd liked to fool himself into believing he didn't and that Gokudera throwing dynamite at people was totally normal, but he couldn't keep doing that when Superbi Squalo had been so close to actually killing him.

"You're gonna fight, aren't you?" he asked once Tsuna left, fiddling with the Rain Ring he'd just received and glancing at Gokudera.

The other boy didn't reply, but slid the ring into his finger with a determined look on his face. Yamamoto sighed and shrugged. He didn't need to think about this any deeper.

* * *

"Hey, Yamamoto? Your mom… what happened to her?"

The question was sudden and unexpected. As they walked together on the way to Takezushi, Gokudera's voice cut through the silence like a knife. Yamamoto took a moment to answer, it was a sensitive topic and not something he particularly liked reminiscing, but he thought if it was Gokudera, he could trust him with the truth.

"I don't really remember. I was very little when she passed away. My old man says she had a weak heart from the start. There was no helping it. My old man had it really tough."

He'd always been able to notice how hard his father struggled to split up between taking care of him and making sure they had food on the table. The old man was terrific, and Yamamoto knew he owed everything to him. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to pay him back, but he wanted to try at least.

"But Gokudera is awesome too. Being able to live on your own at this age… I'd never be able to do something like that!"

Gokudera was smoking. Yamamoto had noticed that the other boy did that a lot. He'd tried to talk him out of it ('_it's bad for your health!_') but it had always been a waste of time.

"It's not like I chose to be like this… I-I had no other choice… My father killed my mother… what was I even supposed to do?"

Yamamoto didn't know what to say. He stepped closer to the silver-headed boy and brushed their fingers together, comfortingly. Gokudera didn't say anything, but Yamamoto thought he felt him lean against him.

* * *

Gokudera was going to die.

No matter how much Yamamoto tried to convince himself otherwise, the image in front of his eyes was too powerful to be ignored. The building was blowing up in a matter of seconds and Gokudera was still there, wrestling for a stupid ring god damn it all. It was already bad enough that he'd been horribly injured throughout the fight and Yamamoto had cringed every time one of those knives cut through Gokudera's milky skin, but now he was seriously going to die if he didn't let go of that fucking ring.

Yamamoto felt like crying. His hands balled up in fists angrily. What had been the point of all that training if he couldn't protect what was most important? He'd already lost count of how many times he'd called Gokudera's names frantically, or thrown himself against the cage that kept him from saving the boy he loved and now he was stuck, completely powerless, watching him die.

BOOM. The machines went off and the screen's signal disappeared. Gokudera was gone.

Tsuna was screaming. Doctor Shamal and Bianchi too. But everything seemed kind of muted to Yamamoto. He couldn't save him. He couldn't do anything but stand there and watch. He couldn't even tell him how he really felt. He should've jumped from that building.

"I'm sorry… I-I wanted to see the fireworks again"

Gokudera was lying on the ground right in front of them, his body covered with cuts and bruises. Yamamoto suddenly remembered how to breathe and rushed to his side. The defeated boy grabbed onto his collar and forced himself to stand up, his gaze fixated on the ground and his breathing shaken and ragged.

"I'll… leave the rest to you" the whispered. "N-not like I trust you or anything, it's just that I have no other choice!" he pointed out quickly.

Yamamoto smiled. "Got it."

As Gokudera collapsed and the Cervello announced his upcoming match, Yamamoto's fists tightened once again. He would not disappoint Gokudera. They'd go to see the fireworks together again and he'd come clean about his feelings with no regrets.

* * *

Yamamoto took a deep breath and held on tightly to his sword. Today was the day. He'd been meditating in the dojo all day long, holding back the impulse to visit Gokudera at the hospital. He wasn't going to let down his friends who'd fought so bravely. Not Tsuna and definitely not Gokudera. He was going to win.

When he arrived at school he was surprised to see Gokudera leaning against the entrance. He was covered in bandages from head to toe and was using one crutch to keep himself steady. It hurt Yamamoto seeing him like this.

The silver-haired boy looked at him intently, with a deep scowl on his face.

"You have to win this."

"I will."

Gokudera tried to turn away and start walking but he only managed to trip with his own feet and he would've hit the ground face-first if Yamamoto hadn't caught him by the waist. He winced when the pain of his injuries resurfaced but managed to pull back some self-composure and stand up on his own feet.

"Gokudera?" Yamamoto whispered into the silver-head's ear, noticing how close to each other they were standing, his hand still resting gently on the smaller boy's hips.

The Italian boy shivered but gave no reply, instead waiting for Yamamoto to continue. The swordsman took a deep breath trying to fill his chest with courage. He felt he needed more of it for this than for the fight against Squalo.

"I… there's something really important I need to tell you before the fight. Would you… listen to what I have to say? Please?

Gokudera raised his face to meet his eyes. Yamamoto could briefly see bewilderment and a bit of worry in the other boy's emerald eyes, but it was soon replaced by a flush of anger.

"What are you saying now, talking like it's the last chance you'll ever have to say whatever crap you're thinking?! I'm not hearing any of it! Go there and win that fucking fight for the Tenth's sake and _then_ I'll listen to you. Got it?! I don't want to know anything about it until you come back so _don't you fucking talk like you're going to die_!"

The ill-tempered boy squirmed free of Yamamoto's grasp and managed to take a few steps away from him without staggering too much. Yamamoto looked at him and smiled, then caught up to him in two long strides.

"It's a promise then." He said, extending his pinky towards Gokudera. "_When_ I've won, I'll come back and you'll listen to what I have to say."

Gokudera stared at Yamamoto's pinky for a moment, his cheeks lightly flushed. He bit his lip and looked away as he laced his own finger with the Japanese boy's.

"W-whatever!"

* * *

Gokudera wasn't sure of how long it had been since he'd stopped breathing. The last five minutes, or the whole hour of the battle, he had no clue. But the moment he saw Yamamoto stepping out of the building, it seemed to him like he was breathing for the first time in ages.

The taller boy was limping and covered in blood. He managed to reach Gokudera and the others with a triumphant grin as he showed the Ring of the Rain proudly. The Italian boy allowed himself a tiny smile, forgetting for a moment about the pain in his body. Instants later, Yamamoto collapsed from blood loss.

* * *

It took a while to convince everyone that he was okay and that his wounds were not as terrible as they looked. Tsuna had been particularly reluctant to leave, but Reborn had finally dragged him out saying they all needed to be well-rested for tomorrow's Mist battle.

Which left only him and Gokudera in the room.

The Italian boy was leaning against the wall, as far from Yamamoto as he could be, his gaze fixated on the ground. There was a long, tense silence and Yamamoto wondered if it would always be like this between them.

"Thanks for… worrying about me. You should go take some rest, your wounds haven't healed yet." He commented chuckling.

Gokudera looked up at him angrily. "What the fuck?! Weren't you the one who said they had something important to tell me? You even made a stupid promise, are you going to swallow a thousand needles now? I don't know why I even bothered with-"

"Are you really going to hear me out then? Will you hear what I have to say honestly, without running away?" he cut him off with a stern face.

"I already said I would, didn't I? Are you not only stupid but deaf also?"

Yamamoto smiled softly. Truthfully, he'd started to get second thoughts about this. What if Gokudera started hating him and avoiding him again? He'd worked so hard until now to become friends with the dynamite boy and he was scared to lose what little he'd achieved. But he didn't want to keep lying to himself and Gokudera, he didn't want to keep his feelings hidden any longer. He decided the risk was worth taking.

"Gokudera, I like you."

The smaller teen tensed up, flushed beet-red and looked away in an instant.

"W-well that's no s-surprise. I mean y-you're an idiot, you even liked that Squalo j-jerk. S-seriously getting worked up over something s-so stupid." He stammered, turning his back to the baseball player.

He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt the warmth of another body behind him, and the taller teen's lanky arms surrounding him.

"Not that kind of 'like'." He whispered into the boy's ear, feeling him shiver. "The kind of 'like' when you hold hands and those kinds of things." He rested his hands on top of Gokudera's rigid ones.

Gokudera didn't look at him. He was tense like a stick, as if he didn't dare to move a muscle.

"S-stop making fun of me, asshole. I'll shove some dynamite up your nose."

"I'm not. Please don't underestimate my feelings. You said you'd listen to me honestly and without running away."

"And w-what do you expect me to d-do then? You're acting really weird, y-you must've hit your head in that fight."

Yamamoto leaned his forehead against the back of Gokudera's head, breathing a heavy sigh. His body hurt all over, but he was able to ignore it by focusing all his attention on the boy in his arms.

"The only thing I 'expect' is that you take my feelings seriously and give me an honest answer. It would also be great if Gokudera wouldn't hate me for this; even if I get rejected I wish we could still be friends."

Gokudera struggled a bit as if trying to free himself from Yamamoto's grasp but not really wanting to do it.

"Don't play dumb on me… y-you already know… about my f-f-feelings…"

"How could I? Gokudera's so complicated…" he suddenly spun the smaller teen in his arms, making him face forward. The Italian boy's cheeks were flushed red and his eyes were shimmering with emotions Yamamoto wasn't smart enough to understand.

"I-I'm not going to say it!" the bomber stated firmly, leaning his head on Yamamoto's chest.

The swordsman smiled and hugged the shorter teen by the waist. This was more than he'd ever hoped for, and he wasn't going to force Gokudera to say he liked him if he wasn't ready for it. Before really thinking about what he was doing, he grabbed the green-eyed boy's chin and tugged it upwards before leaning in to steal a kiss. Gokudera stood there rigidly until he was finally swayed by the warmth of the other teen's body and leaned in to kiss him back. It was short and clumsy but Yamamoto was too busy trying to keep his heart from exploding in ecstasy to care.

Even after Gokudera snapped out of it and started flailing about Yamamoto taking his first kiss, the Rain Guardian could only smile and pray he could stay like this forever.

-_Finito_-

Easily the clumsiest confession scene ever written. Sorry, pulling the "deredere" out of Gokudera's "tsuntsun" was harder than I expected.

I kind of wanted to write a short story about how Gokudera and Yamamoto fell in love and started going out. I tried to lace it with canon as much as I could, but of course I had to take some liberties here and there. I think it goes without saying that this is a sort of prequel to the previous chapter.

Also, I don't know if it was very clear, but Gokudera confessed to Yamamoto because he _knew_ he was moving back to Italy, he didn't move because he got rejected or something. I dunno why, but I think it's important to mention it.

Dera's statement about Yama swallowing a thousand needles is because Japanese children sing a song when making pinky promises that goes "I promise with my Pinky Finger and if I lie I'll swallow down a thousand needles". Adorable children songs.

And now I'm definitely tuning up the rating one notch. Although the chances of there ever being explicit smut are close to none I'm not entirely opposed to the idea, I'll see where it goes. For now, I've already written four more chapters, but I won't upload them all at once because I'm a little stuck right now.

I'm on the verge of falling asleep so I'll leave it at that. Hope you like it. Please R&R.


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